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Snow Swept Trilogy #1
Snow Swept
Mae Edwards thought she was safe from the ruthless men who hunted her. She had no idea that within minutes, she would have to escape, or be killed. Or worse.
And now, Mae is on the run from a secret agency that answers to no one--including the U.S. government--and a man with a personal vengeance. She is alone in the world, and falling in love with someone she knows next to nothing about.
But worst of all, Mae is on a collision course with a deadly, inner power she cannot control. A power that has killed before, and will kill again.
And now, Mae is on the run from a secret agency that answers to no one--including the U.S. government--and a man with a personal vengeance. She is alone in the world, and falling in love with someone she knows next to nothing about.
But worst of all, Mae is on a collision course with a deadly, inner power she cannot control. A power that has killed before, and will kill again.
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2014
16 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 1, 2015
I was excited to read this brand new book and offer a review, and I thank Mr Hibbard for the opportunity. Here's my review:
The Characters
Mae Edwards is running for her life, chased by bloodthirsty men. She was part of an organization called The Contionum, an organization of terrorism that has infiltrated positions of government authority to achieve it's purposes. Mae's parents were mercilessly killed by this group, and she is determined to survive.
Officer Morales will stop at nothing to find Mae Edwards, a terrorist involved in an explosion in Miami. But he isn't one of the good guys....
Paul Freemont, a reporter, is tormented by his fanatical desire to know the truth about the unexplained destruction of a building in Miami. He is focused on nothing else, as he arranges to meet with a woman claiming to know details. The meeting is to take place on a city bus. Although Paul rides the route several times, the meeting never happens. While following a lead, Paul attempts to interview an injured police officer in the hospital, but he barely escapes with his life...and a briefcase containing more clues.
Ryan Coffee races fancy cars for an anonymous entity called Lit Dragons. Money is wired to his bank in return for him driving at night through the nearly deserted streets at dangerous speeds. By chance on an airplane, he and Mae meet, and she begins to fall in love. But is he also working for the Contionum?
An extremely talented hacker, Heather Gardner, masked as ANONX^17, is the voice for Lit Dragons. She also receives anonymously-wired money in exchange for directing the races, while monitoring her computer screens. Will she uncover the secrets of the Contionum? And who is her friend, DukE_of_DarkNEss_83?
The Plot
When I first read the title, I thought maybe it was a variation of the Snow White fairytale. I was very wrong! I am still not sure why this book was titled Snow Swept, except that it takes place in the wintertime.
The plot tends to jump around too much for my liking. Various parts of the story are told from the different characters' views--which is a common method of storytelling-- but it leaves some holes in the story. Mae was running to escape the terrorist group, but the reason for her running was not clear. Was she a good person or a bad person? During one part of the story, she comes across an unexplained phenomenon: rocks and trees and other forest debris were suspended in the air for several moments before crashing to the ground. This phenomenon was never referred to again in the book. And it is also unclear why Mae was always thinking of paper and ink to clear her mind and calm her fears. There is a hint that Mae herself could be the cause of the phenomenon in the forest, and the paper and ink was her way of controlling her power, but that and her knowledge of the Contionum secrets are not explained.
Another issue for me was the narration of parts of the story by minor characters, Eddie (a man hunting Mae), Nick Ambrose (the bus driver) and Gertrude Pettingale (the woman whose identity was stolen by Mae). Telling the background of their lives detracted some from the story. I also thought it was unrealistic that Nick cared so much FOR (not just about the safety of) Mae when he knew her so briefly. And Gertrude...was she divorced from Simon, or was he her boyfriend? Both relationships were used, divorce being the first mention of their bond (or lack thereof). Regardless, it isn't important to the story.
The Writing
I felt the book was written pretty well, except for the odd and sometimes out of sequence jumps from character to character. The wording within each chapter was chosen pretty well, and the descriptions were visually stimulating. Unfortunately, I found innumerable typing errors. And there were several things that didn't quite make sense. For instance, Mae turns away from "Nick" just before she asks him his name. Another one was that a man, Oskar, who was hunting Mae, had "well-manicured nails," when he seems to be pretty busy trying to keep up with Mae. Or when Mae steps out of the restroom at the airport, and THEN opens the stall door? :)
In all, I enjoyed the book enough to finish, and I would like to read the sequel. I am interested to find the answers to my questions, but I think this first book could have given a little more of the story, while still holding enough of the suspense to keep us reading.
The Characters
Mae Edwards is running for her life, chased by bloodthirsty men. She was part of an organization called The Contionum, an organization of terrorism that has infiltrated positions of government authority to achieve it's purposes. Mae's parents were mercilessly killed by this group, and she is determined to survive.
Officer Morales will stop at nothing to find Mae Edwards, a terrorist involved in an explosion in Miami. But he isn't one of the good guys....
Paul Freemont, a reporter, is tormented by his fanatical desire to know the truth about the unexplained destruction of a building in Miami. He is focused on nothing else, as he arranges to meet with a woman claiming to know details. The meeting is to take place on a city bus. Although Paul rides the route several times, the meeting never happens. While following a lead, Paul attempts to interview an injured police officer in the hospital, but he barely escapes with his life...and a briefcase containing more clues.
Ryan Coffee races fancy cars for an anonymous entity called Lit Dragons. Money is wired to his bank in return for him driving at night through the nearly deserted streets at dangerous speeds. By chance on an airplane, he and Mae meet, and she begins to fall in love. But is he also working for the Contionum?
An extremely talented hacker, Heather Gardner, masked as ANONX^17, is the voice for Lit Dragons. She also receives anonymously-wired money in exchange for directing the races, while monitoring her computer screens. Will she uncover the secrets of the Contionum? And who is her friend, DukE_of_DarkNEss_83?
The Plot
When I first read the title, I thought maybe it was a variation of the Snow White fairytale. I was very wrong! I am still not sure why this book was titled Snow Swept, except that it takes place in the wintertime.
The plot tends to jump around too much for my liking. Various parts of the story are told from the different characters' views--which is a common method of storytelling-- but it leaves some holes in the story. Mae was running to escape the terrorist group, but the reason for her running was not clear. Was she a good person or a bad person? During one part of the story, she comes across an unexplained phenomenon: rocks and trees and other forest debris were suspended in the air for several moments before crashing to the ground. This phenomenon was never referred to again in the book. And it is also unclear why Mae was always thinking of paper and ink to clear her mind and calm her fears. There is a hint that Mae herself could be the cause of the phenomenon in the forest, and the paper and ink was her way of controlling her power, but that and her knowledge of the Contionum secrets are not explained.
Another issue for me was the narration of parts of the story by minor characters, Eddie (a man hunting Mae), Nick Ambrose (the bus driver) and Gertrude Pettingale (the woman whose identity was stolen by Mae). Telling the background of their lives detracted some from the story. I also thought it was unrealistic that Nick cared so much FOR (not just about the safety of) Mae when he knew her so briefly. And Gertrude...was she divorced from Simon, or was he her boyfriend? Both relationships were used, divorce being the first mention of their bond (or lack thereof). Regardless, it isn't important to the story.
The Writing
I felt the book was written pretty well, except for the odd and sometimes out of sequence jumps from character to character. The wording within each chapter was chosen pretty well, and the descriptions were visually stimulating. Unfortunately, I found innumerable typing errors. And there were several things that didn't quite make sense. For instance, Mae turns away from "Nick" just before she asks him his name. Another one was that a man, Oskar, who was hunting Mae, had "well-manicured nails," when he seems to be pretty busy trying to keep up with Mae. Or when Mae steps out of the restroom at the airport, and THEN opens the stall door? :)
In all, I enjoyed the book enough to finish, and I would like to read the sequel. I am interested to find the answers to my questions, but I think this first book could have given a little more of the story, while still holding enough of the suspense to keep us reading.
May 18, 2015
Snow Swept was a brilliantly put together book that I just couldn't get enough of. The book features the main character, Mae Edwards, who is on the run for her life. She was part of an organization of terrorism, that actually killed her parents. She doesn't want to have the same fate and is running for her life in order to not be killed by these blood thirsty men. I loved reading through Mae's adventure and seeing if she would be able to make it out alive. While Mae is on the run, she meets a man named Ryan while on a plane. Mae starts to fall in love with Ryan, which could be dangerous if he is part of the organization of terrorism. This book pulled me in from the start and wouldn't let me go. This one was way too good to put down! I would recommend reading this book and can't wait for the second one!
October 3, 2015
A mystery with an abnormal physical phenomenon.
Make and her mother are, and have been, running for their life. Constantly. The chasers never give up and seem to have sleeper cells everywhere. There is also a group of hackers who play a very dangerous car chase game like a video game. But, their game is real. And, everyone in it must have a lot of money because new cars are involved, as well as family payoffs if a player dies during the high speed game.
I usually don't read this genre, but it was interesting. However, it is an unfinished chapter book that forces you to buy more if you want to know what's going on, and how things turn out for Mae. The story was a four star read, but I gave it three because of errors and the unfinished ending. I buy a lot of series books, but each one is a stand-alone.
Make and her mother are, and have been, running for their life. Constantly. The chasers never give up and seem to have sleeper cells everywhere. There is also a group of hackers who play a very dangerous car chase game like a video game. But, their game is real. And, everyone in it must have a lot of money because new cars are involved, as well as family payoffs if a player dies during the high speed game.
I usually don't read this genre, but it was interesting. However, it is an unfinished chapter book that forces you to buy more if you want to know what's going on, and how things turn out for Mae. The story was a four star read, but I gave it three because of errors and the unfinished ending. I buy a lot of series books, but each one is a stand-alone.
August 1, 2015
Great writing style!
This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. It's a great triller story on terrorist and making sure someone doesn't leak who was behind the Miami attack. I love how the author wrote the book in sections and from different characters view points. At first I thought it was a few different stories in one book until it all came together how they were linked to the same plot. He has such a great writing style! The book leaves you hanging at a good part and I can't wait to read the next one!!
This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. It's a great triller story on terrorist and making sure someone doesn't leak who was behind the Miami attack. I love how the author wrote the book in sections and from different characters view points. At first I thought it was a few different stories in one book until it all came together how they were linked to the same plot. He has such a great writing style! The book leaves you hanging at a good part and I can't wait to read the next one!!
October 28, 2015
I was given this book by Rebecca Hamilton in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is a fantastically exciting book with non stop action. Mixed with a bit of paranormal activity it was gripping right from page one. With the way the lead characters play their part and then got woven into the story is very clever. A definite must to read except it is a cliff hanger and I think the next two books will be essential to satisfy my curiosity.
This is a fantastically exciting book with non stop action. Mixed with a bit of paranormal activity it was gripping right from page one. With the way the lead characters play their part and then got woven into the story is very clever. A definite must to read except it is a cliff hanger and I think the next two books will be essential to satisfy my curiosity.
August 8, 2015
I couldn't put this book down. As with all of Derrick Hibbard's books, you're caught up in a very compelling plot from the first paragraph. This is not my typical genre, so I was surprised at how hard I got pulled into the Snow Swept series. Fast pace, cerebral development, intriguing characters--a wild ride...Can't wait to start #2 in the series: Snow Falling.
November 17, 2015
I got this in exchange of an honest review, I liked the book a lot the characters were interesting keep me reading and wondering since it was full of surprised nothing is predictable everything is different unique the flow and plot were perfect this is the first book I read for this author but will not be the last
November 24, 2015
This book was a little hard to get into. I was a little lost at the beginning, but I hung in there. The more I read, the more I got into the book. The main character is quite well developed and the supporting cast are quite interesting. Just when I was really getting into the story, the book ends. I am glad book 2 and 3 are already out. I hate being left hanging.
October 18, 2015
Kind of a weird book.
A weird book, choppy and discordant. It didn't make a lot of sense. I could deal with all of that but then the darn thing ended in a cliffhanger and THAT totally sucked!
A weird book, choppy and discordant. It didn't make a lot of sense. I could deal with all of that but then the darn thing ended in a cliffhanger and THAT totally sucked!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews